Student Leader Killed

By Greta Petry

Walton L. Gould, 25, of Spring Valley, a graduate student in the School of Social Welfare, died last Wednesday in a car-truck accident on the New York State Thruway.

"The campus community is saddened by this tragic and sudden loss," said Patrick Romain, a counselor in the Educational Opportunities Program who acted as a mentor to Gould.

Gould was on his way back to Albany when the accident occurred. He was traveling north on the Thruway near the town of Plattekill, about 73 miles south of Albany, when he hit a truck at 12:56 p.m., according to the Rockland Journal News.

Carson Carr, assistant vice president for Academic Affairs and director of EOP, said, "Walton was a product of what the Educational Opportunities Program has done for so many educationally and economically disadvantaged students. He was able to take full advantage of this institution's receptiveness to educating non-traditional students and we are very proud of his successes here."

Romain remembered Gould as a "go-getter," adding, "everyone who interacted with Walton loved him. He was a kind-hearted person, a very nice young man. He really was focused and he pursued things that he thought were very important."

Funeral services were held Monday at the First Baptist Church in Spring Valley. In his home community Gould stressed the value of higher education to neighborhood friends and students at his alma mater, Ramapo High School.

As a graduate student, Gould was a fellow in the Underrepresented Fellowship Program, said Betty Shadrick of the office of Graduate Studies. "Walton's goals were to give back to his community. He was sensitive to the needs of those who are underprivileged, and he wanted to be an agent of change. He was a wonderful young man and he will be missed. He was loved by a lot of people," said Shadrick.

As an undergraduate Gould was an ombudsperson for the University's Affirmative Action office. He also held a legislative internship with the chairman of the NYS Assembly Ways and Means Committee. He was active in Student Association as assistant programming director, was an undergraduate senator, vice president of Class Council from 1992-1995, and a member of the prelaw association, Shadrick said. In addition, he was a child care worker for St. Catherine's Home for Children in Albany.

After graduating in 1995 with a bachelor's degree, Gould worked for two anti-poverty agencies in Spring Valley before returning to Albany this fall for graduate work in social welfare.